7 Managing Oracle Net Services

This chapter introduces the various administration tools of Oracle Net Services. It discusses the main administration applications, Oracle Enterprise Manager and Oracle Net Manager. It also introduces the command-line control utilities.

Using Oracle Enterprise Manager to Configure Oracle Net Services

Oracle Enterprise Manager enables you to configure Oracle Net Services for any Oracle home across multiple file systems. It also provides common administration functions for listeners. Oracle Enterprise Manager provides an integrated environment for configuring and managing Oracle Net Services.

You can use Oracle Enterprise Manager to configure and administer the following from multiple Oracle homes:

Listeners: Configure listeners to receive client connections.

Naming: Define connect identifiers and map them to connect descriptors to identify the network location of a service. Oracle Net Manager supports configuration of connect descriptors in local tnsnames.ora files or a centralized directory service.

Naming: Define connect identifiers and map them to connect descriptors to identify the network location and identification of a service. Oracle Net Manager supports configuration of connect descriptors in local tnsnames.ora files or a centralized directory service.

Starting Oracle Net Manager

You can start Oracle Net Manager using the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console or as an independent application as follows:

To start Oracle Net Manager from the Oracle Enterprise Manager console, select Service Management from the Tools menu, and then select Oracle Net Manager.

To start Oracle Net Manager as standalone application, do the following:

On Linux, run netmgr from the ORACLE_HOME/bin directory.

On Microsoft Windows, select Programs from the Start menu, and then select Oracle -HOME_NAME. Next, select Configuration and Migration Tools, and then Net Manager.

Navigating Oracle Net Manager

The Oracle Net Manager interface includes a toolbar and various menu options, as well as property sheets for configuring network components.

The navigator pane provides a tree view of network objects and the objects they contain, organized in folder hierarchy. You can expand and contract the folders to monitor or manage objects such as connect identifiers, listeners, and profiles. Click an object to make changes to it.

Using Oracle Net Manager Wizards

The Oracle Net Manager wizards provide step-by-step guidance for tasks. The wizards simplify complex tasks by guiding you through the tasks in manageable steps. The wizards are not intended to provide all configuration options. After you have completed a task with a wizard, use other components of Oracle Net Manager to modify the configuration.

Deciding When to Use Oracle Enterprise Manager and Oracle Net Manager

In Oracle Database 11g, much of the functionality previously available only in Oracle Net Manager has been integrated with Oracle Enterprise Manager. Oracle Enterprise Manager provides the ability to manage configuration for multiple Oracle homes across multiple file systems. Oracle Net Manager only enables you to manage configuration for one Oracle home on a local host computer. Table 7-2 describes the key differences between the tools.

Table 7-2 Comparing Oracle Enterprise Manager and Oracle Net Manager

User Interface Tool

Features

Oracle Enterprise Manager

Configures the following features:

- Local naming (tnsnames.ora files)

- Directory naming

- Listeners

Provides Oracle home support across multiple file system

Provides the ability to search and sort local and directory naming entries

Export directory naming entries to a tnsnames.ora file

Performs the following administrative tasks for a selected listener:

- Show current status

- Change status

- Change tracing level settings

- Change logging settings

- Set connect-time failover and load balancing methods when there is more than one listener

Oracle Net Manager

Configures the following features:

- Local naming (tnsnames.ora files)

- Directory naming

- Listeners

- Profiles

Provides Oracle home support for single host

Sets connect-time failover and load balancing methods when there is more than one listener

Note:

When Automatic Diagnostic Repository (ADR) is enabled, any changes to the tracing and logging settings using Oracle Enterprise Manager are ignored by the system.

Oracle Net Configuration Assistant runs automatically during software installation, as described in your Oracle installation guide. It can also be run after installation in standalone mode to configure naming methods, the listener, net service names in the tnsnames.ora file, and directory server usage.

To start Oracle Net Configuration Assistant do the following:

On Linux and UNIX, run netca from the ORACLE_HOME/bin directory.

On Microsoft Windows, select Programs from the Start menu, and then select Oracle -HOME_NAME. Next, select Configuration and Migration Tools, and then Oracle Net Configuration Assistant.

Configure this computer to resolve connect identifiers to connect descriptor through one or more of following naming methods:

Local naming

Directory naming

Easy Connect naming

External naming

Local Net Service Name configuration

Create, modify, delete, rename, or test connectivity of a connect descriptor stored in a local tnsnames.ora file.

Directory Usage Configuration

Configure a directory server for directory-enabled features.

About the OracleNetAdmins Group

To use Oracle Net Manager, you must be a member of the OracleNetAdmins group or the OracleContextAdmins group. Oracle Net Configuration Assistant establishes these access rights for these groups during Oracle Context creation.

The OracleNetAdmins group is owned by itself. Members of the OracleNetAdmins group have create, modify, and read access to Oracle Net objects and attributes. They can also add or delete members in the group, and add or delete groups to be owners of the OracleNetAdmins group.

The OracleContextAdmins group is a super-user group for Oracle Context. Members of the OracleContextAdmins group can add all supported types of entries to Oracle Context.

In the preceding command, directory_host is the directory server host, port is the listening TCP/IP port for the directory server, binddn is the directory administrator or user DN, and ldif_file is the input file name. If the port is not specified, then the default port of 389 is used. The -q option prompts for a single bind password to be entered.

Removing Users From the OracleNetAdmins Group

To remove a user from the OracleNetAdmins group with ldapmodify, do the following:

Create an LDIF file that specifies that you want to delete a user to the OracleNetAdmins group.

You can use the following sample LDIF file. Enter the appropriate DN for cn=OracleNetAdmins and the user that you want to delete.

Enter the following ldapmodify syntax at the command line to delete the user:

$ ldapmodify -h directory_host -p port -D binddn -q -f ldif_file

In the preceding command, directory_host is the directory server host, port is the listening TCP/IP port for the directory server, binddn is the directory administrator or user DN, and ldif_file is the input file name. If the port is not specified, then the default port of 389 is used. The -q option prompts for a single bind password to be entered.

Changing Ownership of the OracleNetAdmins Group

By default, the owner of the OracleNetAdmins group is the OracleNetAdmins group itself. Any member of the OracleNetAdmins group can add or delete other members from the OracleNetAdmins group. If you prefer another group to add or delete OracleNetAdmins members, then you can change the owner attribute of the OracleNetAdmins group to another group.

The owner cannot be an individual user entry but must be a group entry, and the group entry is one comprised of the LDAP schema object classes GroupOfUniqueNames and orclPriviledgeGroup.

To add a group as an owner of an OracleNetAdmins group, do the following:

Create an LDIF file, as follows:

Specify the group you want to add as an owner.

You can use the following sample LDIF file. Enter the appropriate DN for cn=OracleNetAdmins and the DN of the group that you want to add.

In the preceding command, directory_host is the directory server host, port is the listening TCP/IP port for the directory server, binddn is the directory administrator or user DN, and ldif_file is the input file name. If the port is not specified, then the default port of 389 is used. The -q option prompts for a single bind password to be entered.

Using Listener Control Utility to Administer the Listener

Oracle Net Services provides tools to help you start, stop, configure, and control each network component. The Listener Control utility enables you to administer the listener. The utility is started by the user that owns the Oracle installation, or a member of the designated group, and on the same machine where the listener is running. The basic syntax for this utility is as follows:

lsnrctl command [listener_name]

For example, the following command starts a listener named lsnr:

lsnrctl START lsnr

You can also issue Listener Control utility commands at the LSNRCTL> program prompt. To obtain the prompt, enter lsnrctl with no arguments at the operating system command line. When you run lsnrctl, the utility is started, and you can enter the necessary commands from the program prompt.

Performing Common Network Tasks

Network configuration and administration tasks are described throughout this guide. The following tables list the common tasks, the tools associated with them, and points you to the topic in the guide that describes the task: